Noble Steed
by The Jasper Raven
Summary: SEQEUL TO "Unique" Sasuke's been planning Sakura's birthday since she threw him a party for his birthday. He's never wanted to make someone so happy before.


"I told you! I'm just going for a walk!"

"A walk with that troublemaking Uchiha!"

"He's _not _a troublemaker!"

"He may be the best in his class but he's still dangerous! He's cocky, spiteful, wild-"

"Mom! _Shut up_!"

"Don't you dare walk out that door!"

Sakura slammed the front door in her mother's face, hoping the impact broke her nose. She stormed through the streets of Konoha, blinded by tears and her inferno of rage. Her mother didn't know anything. She'd never even given him a chance. She didn't know where she was going just that she had to get out of that house. The smell of her father's alcohol combined with her mother's bellowing had given her a terrible migraine. She found herself sobbing in Konoha's cherry blossom fields by a silver pond the next time she could think straight. Why couldn't she have understanding parents like her friends? Why couldn't they love Sasuke like everyone else in Konoha? Why couldn't they just be normal? A hand on her shoulder made her jump in surprise. But, when she turned around and met the familiar onyx gaze of her Uchiha, she was beyond relieved. His eyes were sad but gentle and full of concern. He could always calm her down with one glance through his mysterious eyes.

"You heard?" she asked.

He didn't say anything and he didn't need to. He heard everything. He always knew everything that went on in her house. One of the perks of being a ninja was that he could keep a watchful eye on his girlfriend. She didn't mind. He was a gentleman. He wouldn't take advantage of his skills. He wasn't a peeping tom or anything. Without saying anything, Sasuke drew her into his arms. She buried her face against his chest, clutching his shirt in her fists. Whenever she needed him, he was always there. He always dried her tears when no one else cared. She cried against him for a while, comforted by his soft caresses to her hair.

"I'm sorry," she said when her throat cleared of sobs.

"Don't apologize," he said, touching her cheek and wiping her tears away with his thumb.

"She's wrong about you. They're all wrong about you."

"I can understand why they would be concerned. I haven't exactly been a perfect angel."

"You're the best in your class. You're a genius and the heir to the Uchiha clan. There's nothing bad about you."

"Except my bad attitude, wide knowledge of dangerous jutsu, and my reputation."

"Everyone loves you. Everyone wants to be you. Why can't they just accept you?"

"Today isn't about me. Today is about you."

She gave him a questioning look. Her tears had been dried away and her mind was calmer since he spoke. His voice alone was like a lullaby to her.

"You don't know what day it is do you?" She shook her head and looked at him expectantly. An amused smile tweaked his lips and he laced his fingers with hers.

"Let's go."

"Let's go where?"

"You'll see."

"Aren't you going to tell me what day it is?"

"Nope."

"But why?"

"You're smart. You'll figure it out."

* * *

"Sasuke?"

"Yeah?"

"What are we doing here?"

Sasuke had dragged Sakura out of the village to a small town not far from them. In that village, was a horse ranch. Sakura looked around curiously at her new surroundings. She's never been around horses. So what was Sasuke thinking bringing her to a ranch?

"You always said you wanted to do something new in your life. I remembered coming here when I was a little kid. So I figured I'd let you give it a go."

"Umm…"

"Don't worry. You're perfectly safe. The guy's putting you on an old veteran horse that they use for beginners. Come on. Let's go get acquainted."

Sasuke led her through the stable aisles. Sakura didn't know what made Sasuke want to take her horseback riding all of a sudden. He seemed excited and so many old western movies and read so much about warlords charging into battle. Of course she didn't expect to rope any cattle or charge into a joust. Sasuke stopped in front of two stalls.

"Here we are."

Sasuke went into one of the stalls and led out a fully tacked, old, palomino mare.

"This is Dreamer. Not so scary is she?"

"I never said I was scared!"

He chuckled and she smiled herself.

"Come on. I'll give you a leg-up."

"A what-up?"

"I'll help you get on."

"Shouldn't we wait for the head rancher or something?"

"Eh. Who needs him?"

"Oh like you know how to ride a horse!"

"Actually I do."

Before she could ask, he beckoned for her to come over. She stood beside him on one side of the horse. She was confused when he knelt down and cupped his hands together.

"Step your left foot into my hands and hold onto either end of the saddle."

Sakura did as he instructed.

"Now, on three, I want you to jump up and swing your right leg over the saddle. Okay?"

She nodded.

"One, two, three."

With Sasuke's help, she managed to mount a horse for the first time in her life.

"Good job," Sasuke laughed when she scrambled into a better position.

She blushed furiously. She hated being inferior around Sasuke.

"Okay. Here are the rules. You have to kick their sides with your heels to get them to move. If you want to stop, lean back and pull back on the reins. Pull left to go left, right to go right."

"It's really that easy?"

"Western riding's easy. Your lucky I didn't bring you to an English riding stable."

"Which one's yours?" Sakura asked, glancing into the stalls on either side of her.

Sasuke patted the door of a stall in front of her. Inside was a big black stallion that had a stubborn look in his eye. Sakura bit her lip nervously especially when Sasuke opened the stall door.

"This is Taurus," he said, completely unfazed by the horse's dangerous aura.

"Taurus? You mean like the bull?"

"Yupe."

"Are you sure he's safe?"

"Of course I'm sure!"

Sasuke mounted on his own in the stall. He was much more graceful than her and she could tell he'd been doing this for a while. It was a good thing they were wearing jeans and sneakers otherwise riding would be much more difficult.

"You ready?" he asked when he nudged Taurus into the aisle.

Sakura gulped down her nervousness and gave him a confident nod. She kicked Dreamer in the sides with her heels and was surprised when she moved. She didn't think that would work! Sakura followed Sasuke and his steed out to the stable block. It was a beautiful spring day. The sky was cloudless and the sun was a perfect temperature against her skin. The birds chirped in the bright green trees and the leaves' shadows dappled the ground. Trying to act like she wasn't completely clueless, Sakura steered Dreamer after Sasuke when he veered off onto a little dirt path that led into the forests and up the mountain.

"So since when did you know how to ride?" Sakura asked Sasuke.

"My parents used to bring me out here for pony rides. I liked it so when I got older I figured I'd give the actual sport a chance."

"Aw! You must have been so cute!" Sakura squealed.

Though she couldn't see his face, Sakura knew he was blushing. He hated being called "cute."

"So when are you going to tell me what day it is?"

The path widened a little so they could walk side by side. Sasuke studied her and she wasn't quite sure why.

"You _really _don't know what day it is?"

She shook her head. He chuckled and looked ahead again. Frustration filled Sakura but she refrained from screaming at him. She didn't want to lose her temper around him. He was to good to be screamed at. But what was so special about today?

"How do you feel?" Sasuke suddenly asked.

She didn't know what he was referring to until he glanced at the saddle.

"Oh! Fine! I just need to get used to it is all."

"Did you mind doing this today?"

"Of course not! You couldn't have picked a more perfect day to go out and do something like this. It was really thoughtful."

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself."

They walked in silence for a little why, enjoying the day and each other's company. Eventually, the path became overgrown with weeds and disappeared into a golden field. The wheat field stretched far and was very open. Taurus pranced excitedly beside Sakura and her mount.

"You want to try going a little faster?" Sasuke asked her, keeping the stallion from charging away.

Sakura shook away all her nervousness and nodded.

"Okay. Let's try a trot. You'll have to kick her a little harder."

"Got it."

Sasuke got Taurus to trot forward first. Sakura got Dreamer to drag herself forward in a sort of half trot/half walk. She watched Taurus and Sasuke draw further away. Biting her lip in determination, Sakura gave the old mare the hardest kick she could possibly muster. Dreamer's ears went back and she charged forward, catching Sakura off guard. The little pony rushed forward after Taurus at a speed Ssakura knew was much faster than a trot. She clutched the mane of the pony for dear life.

Dreamer galloped past Taurus. Before Sasuke could stop him, the stallion leaped forward, not to be outdone by an old woman. Wind rushed by in Sakura's ears and her eyes were tearing but she hung onto her crazy pony. Both horses covered the long stretch of wheat field in a matter of minutes. When Sakura saw the trees coming she started panicking. Horses were smart enough to stop weren't they? But Dreamer showed no signs of slowing down. Sakura needed to take matters into her own hands. Remembering Sasuke's directions before they set out, Sakura leaned back in her saddle and yanked the reins back. Almost instantly, Dreamer went from racehorse to statue. The pony stopped so short, Sakura flew forward, over Dreamer's head and into the tall stalks of wheat. Taurus charged up beside Dreamer and reared up to stop himself. Sasuke slipped back out of the saddle, landing beside Sakura in the wheat.

The two horses shuffled nervously before breathing and looking at their fallen riders expectantly. Sakura started laughing first. Sasuke joined her soon after. The horses broke off to graze when their riders made no moves to get up. The couple laughed together for a while.

"I think it's time to call it a day," Sakura managed to say between laughs.

"Agreed. Next time, I'll make sure to bring the trail guide. I was a bit overconfident."

"It's okay to by cocky when you're a genius remember?"

They laughed again and watched the clouds go by until the sun started setting. They remounted their horses and headed back to the ranch. They headed back home, smiling.

"Thanks for today," Sakura thanked and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Don't thank me yet. Your day's not over yet."

Sakura was about to ask the same question again but shut up. He kept saying she'd figure it out. She'd have to figure it out soon. They passed through the gates of Konoha after the sun had set.

"My parents will kill me-"

"Ah! No! No parent talk."

Sakura gave him an astounded look. He didn't usually burst out like that. She knew he hated how her parents treated her but he was usually subtle about it. He smiled at her.

"I don't want parent talk to ruin your day today."

"Oh my god! Would you _please _tell me what day it is?"

"You tell me."

"SURPRISE!"

They walked into a square of the park and found it lit with lanterns and dressed in balloons and banners. A huge sign hung over a crowd of Sakura's friends read "HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAKURA!"

"Birthday?" Sakura said slowly.

"Sakura it's March 28th. The date of your birth. How could you not know?"

Sakura smiled at him.

"I totally forgot. This morning was so hectic that I didn't glance at the calendar."

"Well let's not dwell on the past!"

Ino came up to her and placed a cup of soda in her hand.

"Its your birthday! That means looking towards the future!"

The music went on and all the crazy teenage ninjas started dancing. Sakura pulled Sasuke aside.

"You planned this whole thing just for me?"

"Of course I did. Consider it a thank you for what you did for me last year."

"That restraining order still working?"

He laughed.

"Yeah. Just like I hope this will."

Sasuke handed her a bracelet. Five charms hung from its silver chain. There was a cherry blossom, a charm of the Uchiha crest, a picture of Sasuke, a picture of Sakura, and a heart.

"Sasuke! This is beautiful! I love it! Thank you!"

She threw her arms around his neck, smiling more than she had in a while. What had started as a terrible morning had turned into one of the happiest days of her life all because of Uchiha Sasuke.

**Author's Review: **Woot! I actually like how this turned out! I know I kinda rushed the ending but I was running late on deadlines. And yeah I know the horse behavior was a bit unrealistic but again, rushed for time. I hope you all enjoyed and PLEASE REVIEW! The authoress loves you!


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